Saturday 04 February 2017 8:27 am

Trump’s immigration ban has been blocked nationwide by a Seattle judge

A US judge in Seattle has issued a temporary nationwide block on President Donald Trump's ban on citizens from seven Muslim majority countries.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has though, said it will appeal against the Seattle ruling.

Trump's executive order had halted the US refugee programme and banned anyone from the countries Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Syria and Libya from travelling to the country, even if they have already been approved for a visa, have an existing visa or a green card.

Federal Judge James Robart ruled against government lawyers, who said US states didn't have the standing to challenge Trump's order.

Robart granted a temporary restraining order after hearing arguments from Washington state and Minnesota that the President's order unlawfully discriminated against Muslims and caused unreasonable harm.

Customs officials have reportedly told US airlines they can carry on boarding banned travellers.

In a statement the White house said the DoJ intends to file an emergency stay of the order to defend the executive order "which we believe is lawful and appropriate".

The order has caused mass protests as well as significant confusion at airports. Courts in several other states, including Virginia, New York and Michigan, are hearing cases challenging Trump's executive order.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has asked for "early clarity" from the US administration on the situation. It said in a statement that the executive order was issued "without prior coordination or warning, causing confusion among both airlines and travellers".

"It also placed additional burdens on airlines to comply with unclear requirements, to bear implementation costs and to face potential penalties for non-compliance," it said.

On Thursday, Uber's chief executive Travis Kalanick quit Trump's business advisory group. In an email to employees, he said: "Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the President or his agenda, but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that."

Tesla founder Elon Musk however, did not follow suit, saying on Twitter: "Advisory councils simply provide advice and attending does not mean that I agree with actions by the administration."